2005 4.0L Head Gasket

I've made the situation with my truck worse with a poor decision, so I wanted to get some opinions by some people who are far more knowledgeable. My truck had 207,000 miles when it had the issue.

Three years ago, I was made aware of the fact that my head gasket on my 2005 Tacoma 4.0L was leaking when cold and would stop after the engine heated up. That didn't last long before the head gasket was blown. I got quotes from $2800-$4000 to replace the head gasket. Some shops said it was "too big of a job for them". Since it was an access cab, and I have three kids, I bought a car and thought I would replace the head gasket when I had the money.

I didn't expect it to take three year but it did. Now the Toyota dealership recommends not replacing the head gasket but instead replacing the engine because it sat for three years. They think that rings will not seal. I didn't think about this at the time that I left it sitting.

Anyway, I can think of a few options and would like opinions on them:

• Replace the Head Gasket for $2800 and take my chances.
• The Dealership quoted $6000 to put a used engine in. $4,400 for the engine with 143,000 miles and a one year warranty.
• I could try to find another used engine for less money and pay somebody to put it in. (* - any advice on how to find a reliable engine for a good price?)
• Instead of used engine, I could buy a remanufactured engine. Car Part Planet has one for $4100 with 5 year unlimited mile warranty. Do they use OEM parts?
• I could have my engine rebuilt at the same time as the head gasket. I have no idea how feasible this even is.
• Is it worth considering a novice to try and replace the engine himself?
• I could sell the truck for scrap (Not really considering this right now)

I live in East Tennessee, in case anyone has connections they can point me to.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

direct swaps are pretty easy, you can look for a motor your self, ive found many around 2-3k cad

 

The "rings won't seal" line is BS.

 

I tend to seriously doubt the rings not sealing story also. I suppose maybe they are concerned that there was some water left in one or more of the cylinders from the leak and it might have seized a ring? Or just because it sat so long that there could possibly be a stuck ring. But I wouldn't just assume that is true.
How in the world is replacing a head gasket too big of a job for a mechanic shop?
Does $2800-$4000 seem high to anybody else to replace one head gasket?
Of course you may not know until you get in there if you have to have the heads resurfaced but that shouldn't be too big a deal I wouldn't think. What am I missing here?

 

I agree. I’ve brought back motorcycle engines that sat for decades. I’d just go ahead with the head gasket replacement here probably if the engine is otherwise in good shape.

Otherwise complete engine replacement. No sense spending more to rebuild when these engines are cheap and plentiful

 

The Dealership is worried about the rings because it sat for years with coolant in the cylinder. Just saying that because I didn't make that clear in my post.

I'm not sure what makes it a big job, does it have something to do with getting the timing right?

 

For just the head gasket, the whole accessory drive, and the timing cover have to come off. It's major motor dissassembly. Not so much difficult, just very very labor intensive. I had a similar issue on my 09 4 cylinder. I swapped the motor out myself with a used one and its been chugging along ever since. I personally would avoid the dealer at all costs, they're going to try to take you for a ride on the cost

 

Its a 20 hour job but a shop shouldn't be saying " oh we cant do that its too big of a job" looks pretty bad

 

That's a new fact and kind of changes the analysis.

 

"The rings won't seal" is crap; corrosion in the cylinder on the other is a very real consideration. Spend a $100 and buy a boroscope/inspection camera and have a good look at the bores. If there's coolant in the cylinders, and/or significant corrosion visible, then yes, definitely go for the engine swap. If the bores look good, then flip a coin. Given how much you have to do to replace the HG, I don't think going for a full swap is such a horrible idea.

 

Keep looking for another shop. That Dealer pricing is bullshit. A decent shop should be able to boro the cylinder and see what you are up against and decide headgasket vs used motor.